The Boston Bruins are on track to play their next game in the aftermath of a blizzard.

Boston is scheduled for a Saturday matinee against the Tampa Bay Lightning, about 12 hours after the worst of a snowstorm predicted to dump about two feet of snow on Massachusetts. On Friday night, 1-2 inches of snow are expected to come down per hour, with the storm tapering off by Saturday afternoon.

“In weather, you never say never,” weather service meteorologist William Babcock told Boston.com. “Right now, we’re fairly confident there’s going to be a major snowstorm. ... The probability of our seeing significant snow is fairly high. I wouldn’t want to bet against it at this time.”

Another thing to not bet against: the cancellation of the game. Bruins coach Claude Julien told reporters on Thursday that he expects the 1 p.m. start to go off as planned.

Part of the reason for that is the lockout-condensed schedule. Tampa Bay only makes one more trip to Boston this season, on March 2. Both teams play two days before that, on Feb. 28, and three games in three nights is out of the question. Beyond that, the teams' off days and schedules don't line up with any obvious fix in sight.

The last high-profile blizzard game in the NHL was on Feb. 7, 2010, when the Pittsburgh Penguins played the Washington Capitals in DC in a Super Sunday matinee despite two feet of snow that closed airports in Northeast. Pittsburgh flew into Newark, N.J., from Montreal after their Saturday afternoon game against the Montreal Canadiens. The team then took a five-hour bus ride, arriving in Washington at 2:15 a.m. Washington won 5-4 in overtime.

"I think it hurts us worse," then-Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said. "We're out shoveling all day and worried about people coming to the game and your family and how are we driving and all of this stuff, and your focus is not on 'Hey, we've got a game tomorrow."'

For the record, the Lightning play in Newark on Thursday night, so they'll have more than enough time to make it to TD Garden, and Boston sports fans have been here before.

Bruins have played a few blizzard games over years. 4-3 win over Whale drew 4,761 on 3/29/84. 7,012 in house for 7-3 win vs. Habs on 1/22/87

Other area games on Friday night, though, have already been affected. The AHL's Providence Bruins' game against the Portland Pirates was moved to Monday; Northeastern at UMass has been postponed until Tuesday; and New Hampshire and Providence will play Wednesday.